Dear President Randhawa, Provost Johnson, and WWU Board of Trustees,

Students on college campuses across the country are demanding that their institutions live up to the values they claim to uphold. On May 3, 2024, a diverse coalition of Western Washington University (WWU) student organizations, led by WWU’s Jewish Voice for Peace and Arab Student Association, presented you with a list of demands. Students are calling on WWU to financially divest from genocide, invest in decolonial education, and actively address the harm that the university has inflicted upon Arab and Arab American students on campus. As faculty, we write in support of our students and urge you to meet their demands. 

Divestment is not a new phenomenon. In response to student-led movements in the 1980s, universities across the country cut ties with companies that supported South Africa’s apartheid regime. Many universities, including Harvard, Michigan, and the University of California system, have also committed to divesting their endowment from the fossil fuel industry. Most recently, Washington’s Evergreen State College became the first U.S. university to commit to divesting from “companies that profit from gross human rights violations and/or the occupation of Palestinian territories.” This comes on the heels of Brown and Northwestern University agreeing to disclose their financial investments. 

At WWU, students have a long history of effecting change. It was student activism that led to, among other things, the creation of the Multicultural Center, the Ethnic Student Center, the WWU House of Healing, and the Department of Ethnic Studies. Now, students are demanding “an education that does not fund genocide, apartheid, or war.” We stand with them in unwavering solidarity as they join a nationwide movement on college campuses and a global movement for Palestinian liberation. We therefore ask you to set into motion a speedy process to meet student demands, while upholding academic freedom and free speech on campus, and protecting all students from violence or retaliation.  

As WWU faculty, we have the great privilege of working with students on a daily basis. We have witnessed their commitment to education and community, their ethic of care, and their steadfast dedication to ending the Israeli genocide on Palestinians. As an institution, WWU encourages students to “make waves” and prides itself on fostering a “commitment to equity and justice, and respect for the rights and dignity of others.” Indeed, WWU’s Strategic Plan, approved by the Board of Trustees, envisions WWU as an institution that will “support and strengthen curricula and other programming that engage issues of access, equity, power, and privilege.” We call on WWU administrators to honor these values by meeting students’ demands.

Signed,

1. Verónica Vélez, Professor, Secondary Education
2. Anna Ciao, Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of the Center for Cross-Cultural Research
3. Melissa Osborne, Associate Professor, Sociology
4. A Longoria, Associate Professor and Chair, Secondary Education
5. Bidisha Biswas, Professor of Political Science
6. Yanara Friedland, Fairhaven College
7. Kevin Delucio, Associate Professor, Fairhaven College
8. Shirin Deylami, Professor, Political Science
9. John Bower, Professor, Fairhaven
10. Kate Darby, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
11. Cynthia Camlin, Professor, Department of Art and Art History
12. Jane Wong, Associate Professor, English
13. Tamara Lea Spira, Associate Professor of Queer Studies and American Cultural Studies
14. Sondra Cuban, Woodring College of Education
15. Theresa Warburton, Associate Professor, Department of English
16. Mark Neff, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
17. Jae Fisher, Professor of Anthropology
18. Josh Cerretti, Associate Professor, History and WGSS
19. Ely Shipley, Associate Professor, English
20. Clayton Pierce Associate Professor
21. Zaidi Batool, Assistant Professor, Sociology
22. Froylan Sifuentes, Assistant Professor, Environmental Science
23. Mary Hunt, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Human Development
    
24. Christopher Loar, Professor, English
    
25. Jenny Marie Forsythe, Assistant Professor, English
26. Katherine Judith Anderson, Associate Professor, English
27. Catherine Wineinger, Assistant Professor of Political Science
28. Lisa Beard, Assistant Professor of Political Science
29. Robyn Mieko Dahl, Assistant Professor, Geology & SMATE
30. Vicki Hsueh, Professor, Political Science
31. Katie Rupe, Assistant Professor of Math Education, Mathematics & SMATE
    
32. Adrian J. Villicana, Associate Professor, Psychology
33. Barbara Lehman, Professor, Psychology
34. Kristi Lemm, Professor, Psychology
35. Larry Symons, Associate Professor, Psychology
36. Ceci Lopez, Associate Professor & Director Law, Diversity & Justice
37. Cameron Whitley, Assistant Professor, Sociology
38. Ruby Ben, Assistant Professor, Sociology 
39. Glenn Tsunokai, Professor, Sociology
40. Francisco Laso, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies
41. Liz Mogford, Professor, Sociology
42. Kristin Anderson, Professor, Sociology
43. Dolores Calderón, Professor
    
44. Dharitri Bhattacharjee, Associate Professor, History
45. Greg Youmans, Associate Professor of English and Film and Media Studies
    
46. Nada Elia, Visiting Scholar, Fairhaven College
47. Caroline Hardin, Assistant Professor, Computer Science /Science , Math and Technology Education
48. Melina Juarez, Assistant Professor Political Science
49. Chris E. Vargas, Associate Professor, Art and Art History
    
50. Amir Abedi, Professor, Political Science
    
51. José Roach Orduña, Assistant Professor, English
52. Melanie Bowers, Assistant Professor, Political Science
53. Charles Anderson, Associate Professor of History
54. Allison Giffen, Professor, English/WGSS
55. Mariangela Mihai, Assistant Professor, Anthropology & WGSS
56. Lourdes Gutierrez Najera
57. Christine Espina, Associate Professor, Nursing Program, Health & Community Studies Department
58. Robert Yerachmiel Sniderman, Assistant Professor in Socially Engaged Art, Fairhaven College
59. Emily Spracklin, Teaching and Learning Librarian, Western Libraries
60. Jean Lee, Assistant Professor, English
61. Mo Wells, Visiting Assisant Professor of Indigenous Studies
62. Natalie Baloy, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
63. Neah Ingram-Monteiro, Teaching & Learning Librarian, Western Libraries
64. Gabe Gossett, Head of the Hacherl Research & Writing Studio at Western Libraries
65. Mary Tuti Baker, Assistant Professor, Comparative Indigenous Politics, Canadian American Studies 
66. Casey Mullin, Head of Cataloging and Metadata Services, Western Libraries
67. Ricardo López-Pedreros, History
68. Blanca Aranda Gómez García, Associate Professor, Modern and Classical Languages
69. Brian J. Bowe, Professor, Journalism
70. Daniel Picus, Assistant Professor, Global Humanities and Religions
71. N. Hayes, Associate Professor in the Huxley College of the Environment 
72. Xi Wang, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies
73. Kathleen Young, Associate Professor, Anthropology
    
74. Judith M. S. Pine, Professor, Anthropology
75. Stefania Heim, Associate Professor, English
76. James Miller, UEPP
77. Angela Bell, Assistant Professor, Psychology
78. Daniel Chard, Assistant Professor, History
79. Steve Bennett, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Human Development
80. Jennifer Green, Professor, ECEM (Early Childhood, Elementary, Multilingual Education)
81. Phil Pendergast, Assistant Professor, Sociology
82. Daisy Padilla, Director of Access and Inclusion, Secondary
83. JOHN KORSMO, Prof of Human Services. Health and Community Studies
84. Phoebe Wahl, Design Faculty, Illustration Certificate Program
85. Gabriela Martinez, Teaching and Learning Librarian, Western Libraries
86. Anna Lees, Associate Professor, Elementary Education
87. Christopher O'Dell, TA, math
88. Liam Watts, Instructor, Mathematics
89. Mark Y. Miyake, Associate Professor of Music and Society, Fairhaven College
90. Amites Sarkar, Professor, Mathematics
91. Mary Tuti Baker, Assistant Professor, Comparative Indigenous Politics, Canadian American Studies
92. Jill MacIntyre Witt, Sr. Instructor, UEPP
93. Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy, Assistant Professor of Theatre History and Theatre Education
94. Shea Ani Tipesh, TA, English
95. Dawn Dietrich, Professor of English
    
96. Tesla Monson, Associate Professor, Anthropology
    
97. Sylvia Hadnot, NTT Instructor, Environmental Studies
    
98. Jackie Sennett, Professor, HS/HCS/WCE
    
99. Nick Stanger, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
    
100. Lysa Rivera, Professor, English
     
101. David Leaf, Professor Emeritus, Biology
102. Rae Lynn Schwartz-DuPre, WGSS/Communication Studies
103. Christina Byrne, Professor, Psychology
104. Kristen Chmielewski, Associate Professor, Health and Human Development
105. Milica Jelaca Jovanovic, Professor, Music
106. Christina Gutierrez-Dennehy, Assistant Professor of Theatre History and Theatre Education
107. Jeremy Cushman, Associate Professor, English
108. Aquila Flower, Professor of Geography, Environmental Studies
109. Kamarie Chapman, Senior Lecturer
110. Gigi Berardi, Professor, UEPP
111. Darren W. McCroom Associate Professor of Lighting Design and Stage Management
112. Zoë Fejeran, Museum Educator, Western Gallery
113. Sarah E. Watkins, Visiting Assistant Professor of History
114. Cara Jaye, Professor, Chair, Department of Art and Art History
115. Adam Nyman, Professor, Mathematics
116. Tyler Walker, Assistant Professor, Modern and Classical Languages
117. Marianne Brasil, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
118. Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi, Assistant Professor, English
119. Amber Hixson, Senior Instructor, Mathematics
120. Tracy Coskie, Professor, (Early Childhood, Elementary, Multilingual Education
121. Andrew Richardson, Sr. Instructor, Mathematics
122. Zoe Redwoman, Assistant Director of Composition, English
123. Ezra Anisman, Instructor, Fairhaven
124. Andrew Weitz, Assistant Professor, Anthropology
125. Kathleen Brian, Faculty
126. Thomas Hummel, Honors College
127. Sylvia Tag, Librarian, Western Libraries
128. Midori Takagi, Professor, Fairhaven
129. Jennifer Hahn, Instructor, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies
130. Erik Takuichi Wallace, Senior Instructor, Fairhaven College
131. Merrill Peterson, Professor, Biology
132. EJ Colen, Senior Instructor, English & WGSS
133. Hilary Schwandt, Professor, Fairhaven College
134. Caitlin Roach Orduña, NTT Instructor, English
135. Mary Janell Metzger, Professor Emeritus, English
136. Willa Rowan, Faculty, Science, Math, and Technology Education (SMATE)
137. Pamela Schwartz
138. Tamer Hussein Abdelbaki, Visiting Assistant Professor of Arabic, Modern and Classical Languages
139. Christine Johnston, Assistant Professor, History
140. Katie Biancalana Raker, Student Instructor, Fairhaven College
141. Terri Kempton, Teaching Professor and Outback Farm Manager, Fairhaven College
142. James Loucky, Professor Emeritus, Anthropology
143. Travis Cram, Associate Professor, Communication Studies
144. Laura Fernandes Laffrado, Professor, English
145. Raine Dozier, Professor, Health & Community Studies
146. Stan Tag, Professor, Fairhaven
147. Stephanie Treneer, Associate Professor, Mathematics
148. Samantha Spurlin, Instructor, Biology Department
149. Jasmine Goodnow
150. Nabil Kamel, Professor UEPP (Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy)
151. Niall Ó Murchú, Professor
152. Fiona Felker, NTT, Anthropology
153. Ying Li, Professor, CHSS
     
154. John McLaughlin, Professor, Environmental Sciences
     
155. Tasha Laman, Professor, ECEM
156. Sondra Cuban, Woodring College of Education
157. Sarah Jo Monaghan Assistant Professor of Costume Design & Technology, College of Fine and Performing Arts
158. Erin Grimes, TA, Mathematics, College of Science and Engineering
159. Elaine Mehary, Co-Director, Education & Social Justice Minor, Secondary Education, Woodring College of Education
160. Eva Gil, Assistant Professor of Theatre, Acting, College of Fine and Performing Arts
161. Associate Professor, Urban and Environmental Planning & Policy, College of the Environment
162. Trà Huỳnh, College of Science and Engineering